


Two Places at Once

by circletrapped



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Angst question mark?, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Post S4E20 - Qpid, That's on me, how is he supposed to mess with picard if he literally works himself to death???, i didn't put much thought into this tbh, i just want them to CUDDLE and i want picard to SLEEP dammit, just a healthy dose, just what doctor crusher ordered, oh also it goes without saying but PLEASE when riker comes up picture him with the beard, oh boy q feels remorse for his actions??, picard just wants to REST y'all, probably before the series finale, profanity warning, q has no ulterior motive i swear, this can't end too well, this is definitely in that era, too much exposition smh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:54:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24069184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/circletrapped/pseuds/circletrapped
Summary: Captain Picard is stressed, exhausted, and overall just done. The situation only becomes more twisted when Q gives him an offer he can't refuse... mostly because he's too tired.The offer? To take Picard's place. Literally.
Relationships: Jean-Luc Picard/Q
Comments: 20
Kudos: 85





	1. The Worst Decision Picard Could Make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picard's sleep-deprived frustration is enough to alert none other than Q, who offers him.... a nap?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you're just here for the cuddles, they're all in chapter three. if you're here for the plot, enjoy the show!

Two months.

_Two months._

Two whole months without shore leave and Captain Picard had just pulled his third overnight shift of the month. Why? A minor "emergency" of a cargo ship with a malfunctioning replicator. The remainder of the trip for the _two_ people aboard the ship was sixteen hours, which would have made them uncomfortable by the time they reached their destination and could eat, but they would have survived. It _certainly_ hadn't warranted them stopping in the middle of space and crying for the Enterprise to send over their chief engineer to do a simple realignment.

But finally, the exhausted captain could retire to his quarters and rest for the first time in 32 hours.

He walked into his bathroom to brush his teeth, the one thing that had been his deepest desire for the past day. The coffee and chocolate (which he'd begrudgingly accepted from Counselor Troi because he had been too annoyed to eat actual food) lingering on his breath was absolutely _insufferable._ Forty seconds in, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and went dead still. His hair was matted from how much he'd run his hands through it in the past two months and how little time he'd been able to dedicate to maintaining it. The bags under his eyes were so defined that it looked like he'd been in a fight and lost... badly. His bottom lip was chapped and on the verge of bleeding, no doubt a result from the anxious grinding it between his teeth - an old habit that he typically had no problem controlling. Overall he just looked objectively awful.

He finished cleaning his teeth (with vigor, mostly to make up for what he'd missed, but also as a side effect of his frustration) and stepped out of his uniform, practically chucking it to the ground. Despite his tire, he had the dire impulse to throw a temper tantrum akin to that of a toddler. _I must be_ truly _exhausted,_ he thought. His bare skin being exposed to the cool air of his quarters sent a shiver down his spine, but the relatively fresh air was welcome. He let out a sigh before walking to his closet to find sleep clothes, figuring that if yet _another_ incident that required his immediate presence on the Bridge occurred, it would be best if he were wearing _something._ He opted for old Earth clothes, a pair of gray fleece-lined light pants and a button-down sleep shirt.

He had just slipped the pants over his waist when he heard his comm from the bedside table.

_"Riker to Captain Picard, we need you back on the bridge as soon as possible."_

Picard could have cried.

"NoooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he shouted, a very dramatic crescendo in his voice. "Why?! What the _fuck_ could require me _now?!_ I've been up there for _two fucking days_ with _no_ fucking break and you expect me just _come back_ after a full _four fucking minutes_ of being at ease?!" Picard very rarely cursed, especially with such concentration, but he had beyond lost grip on his emotions. He let out a string of curses and even stamped his foot before taking in a deep breath and letting it out. It almost sounded like a sob. He equipped a voice that attempted not to sound like he had just had a rage-fueled scream session.

"Picard t-"

But a shifting noise from behind him caught his attention. He turned around to see someone sitting on his bed. He blinked. The figure was still there. He blinked again. It hadn't moved. And again. Picard noticed that the person on his bed was wearing _his_ uniform and a cocky grin.

"Q."

" _Bonjour,_ _mon capitaine,"_ Q chirped. "You seem distressed."

"Your omnipotence never ceases to amaze me,"Picard spat through gritted teeth. Q clicked his tongue.

"Oh, Jean-Luc, I'm afraid sarcasm is _not_ a very good look on you. That outfit you have on, however, _more_ than suits you."

Picard looked down, suddenly very aware of his lack of a shirt. He ultimately decided to brush off the compliment, much too busy and frustrated to deal with Q's flirtation at the moment.

"Must you attempt to seduce me _right_ now? I'm needed on the Bridge. Again."

"Oh, how little you must think of me. I was simply trying to be polite. I _do_ have a proposition for you, though."

Picard paused for a moment.

_"Captain?"_

He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a harsh sigh. He picked up his comm badge off his end table.

"Picard to Riker, I'll be up in five minutes." He turned to Q. "Explain yourself. Now."

"You're not a very patient man, are you, Picard?" Q mused. A smile threatened to tug at Picard's lips. Not that he'd ever admit it, but he _adored_ how Q said his name.

"You're wasting your own time."

"Very well. I want to take your place as captain of the Enterprise."

_"Excuse me?"_

"Now-"

"You're not my first officer. You aren't part of my _crew._ So what the _hell_ makes you think you can start a mutiny on _my_ ship?"

"You want to sleep, no?"

"I want to _sleep,_ not be _relieved of command!"_

"Jean-Luc, you misunderstand me-"

"Don't _Jean-Luc_ me!"

Q snapped his fingers and Picard was suddenly laying on his back and was practically swaddled in his blanket. No, not _his,_ this one was much softer and heavier than his standard comforter. And was made of a royal blue faux fur. He looked up and, much to his shock, saw himself standing three feet from his bed. He grabbed a fistful of the blanket and could feel it gently caressing his fingers. _So Q hasn't knocked out my consciousness or soul,_ Picard thought. _Does that mean..._

"Are you mirroring me?!"

"Well, you don't have to sound so ungrateful." Hearing Q mimic his voice sounded so wrong. It was _Picard's_ voice, but it was also deeper and more smooth than what he usually heard come out of his own mouth.

"That's not my voice."

"Well, forgive me if I'm prone to exaggerating the," Q paused for a beat, " _seductiveness_ of your voice. I'm just relaying how you sound to me."

"Amusing," Picard muttered, his tone dry as his eyes flicked down. He shifted his arms and found that he could quite easily escape the blanket "prison" in which Q had trapped him. Q was tapping his foot. Picard looked up to see that Q had assumed his original appearance.

"Time is running out, Picard. Wouldn't you like me to take your place so you can rest?" Q was leaning down to look directly into Picard's eyes now, a rather coy smile on his face. Picard couldn't tell if it was the exhaustion or something else, but he felt something within him melt.

"I would," Picard confessed, "but I don't know if you'd be able to do it."

"Excuse me, Jean-Luc, but I possess infinite knowledge and power. I could send the Enterprise to whatever location I desire with the snap of my fingers."

"Yes, I know all too well. _That_ is the problem to which I'm referring. I don't doubt your power or knowledge, but I doubt your ability to impersonate me." Q once again shifted forms. "Damn it, Q, you know what I'm talking about! You really think you can pretend to be a mortal human that _respects his crew?"_

"Oh, please," Q scoffed. "If you can survive dealing with those morons every day, I think I can pretend to tolerate them for a few hours."

Picard internally argued with himself. The fact that he would even _consider_ handing over command of the Enterprise, to _Q_ of all beings, made his skin crawl. But he was _so tired._ Besides, there was no way that a fully functional Q would be a worse captain than an all-but-immobilized Picard. Each second more he spent wrapped in the most comfortable throw blanket ever created was a second he spent drifting into unconsciousness. The offer was making more and more sense. Picard sighed, turning to his side and clutching the blanket to his chest.

"Don't destroy my ship," Picard conceded. His stomach wrenched at his granting Q permission to take his place, but it was overruled by his eyelids turning to lead. He could practically feel Q's grin in the air.

"Oh, Jean-Luc," Q purred, "how could I let you down?"

Picard scoffed as he heard Q's footsteps retreat. He hardly registered the sound of his door opening before shuffling deeper into his blankets and letting the warmth lull him to sleep.

Whatever hell he had just unleashed, he would deal with when he woke.


	2. Qaptian PiQard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q discovers that he is good at many things, but not good at being a starship captain... or being undercover. (aka Q is pining for Picard something awful)

Q glanced back at Picard once more before crossing the threshold of his quarters and smiled. He finally felt relief on the part of his mind that had practically been screaming with Picard's distress. Despite his general disdain for the human race, he had found himself growing rather fond of the starship captain. And he had reserved a part of his consciousness just for Picard, simply so he had more excuses than boredom to pay him a visit.

It took a tremendous amount of control for Q not to check out Picard's body in every possible reflective surface he could on his way to the turbolift, but he knew that he had a job to do. Picard was such a humble man who wouldn't dare be caught staring at himself with such vanity. In Q's case, however, it wouldn't be vanity as much as it would be the desire to have the man in his reflection be his to cherish and play with for the rest of eternity. Q's existence often became lonely, a void he would fill by paying a visit to the Enterprise and batting her crew around as the android's furry little companion would a taxidermied cloth pest. He knew that Picard would rather jump out the airlock than allow Q to become a permanent member of the crew, so that was his only option.

Well, there was another that he had considered...

But he knew better than to entertain something so pointless. Picard cared too deeply about his command and dedication to Starfleet to let anyone, least of all Q, take him away. Q would often have to forcibly rip himself from his fantasies about bringing Picard into the Continuum and existing alongside him forever, with the stars at their whim and everything they could touch under their control.

Q blinked and found himself standing in the turbolift. The doors closed. He glanced around and realized he had no clue how to operate it as a human would. He snapped his fingers and the doors opened, revealing the Bridge. The first face he locked eyes with was Riker's.

"Good morning, Captain. Or," Riker chuckled, "whatever time of day it is." Q feigned a returning chuckle despite not being even slightly amused. _Would Picard laugh? Would he correct Riker? Never mind, his stupid comment doesn't deserve any more of my attention._

"Good day, Riker," Q returned. "Why was I called?"

"We're flying pretty close to the Neutral Zone."

"We are approximately 58,624 kilometers from the end of Federation territory," Data corrected.

"Thank you, Mister Data," Riker sighed, clearly not pleased. A grin broke Q's face. He and Riker never exactly got along, so any opportunity where he was humiliated was something that Q reveled in. "And given the, uh, _recent events_ concerning the Romulans, Starfleet is requiring a captain to be on the Bridge in case we encounter anything unseemly."

The manner in which Riker said "recent events" - heavy with implication and laced with anxiety - told Q that he was definitely supposed to know why he was needed on the Bridge. In reality, he had no clue what the Romulans were up to. He _did_ know, however, that it couldn't have possibly been a threat that needed Captain Picard to be exhausted beyond what was safe for him. No wonder the man had been so cranky about being called back up to the Bridge. Q scoffed. This drew stares from every person in the room.

"Tell me something, Riker," Q demanded, losing his composure as quickly as he would have been able to evaporate all of Romulus. "Are we planning to take any aggressive action against the Romulans?"

"No, sir, but-"

"Is this ship not capable of defending herself?"

"She is, sir, but-"

"This is the _flagship_ of the Federation, damn it! Are there no other members of the crew capable of manning weapons? Of speaking nice and pretty to get them off our backs? Are you trying to tell me that the captain is the only one capable of getting anything done on this ship?!"

Q drew in a breath as he realized that he was _definitely_ blowing his cover. Given how Picard was on the verge of a meltdown (if not in the middle of one) when Q had met him in his quarters, it would have been easy to deflect it as frustration. But Picard was much better at keeping his cool in front of his crew. Q could feel that he was being examined, and turned to the one person who wouldn't buy his excuse:

Deanna Troi.

She had her brows knit together as she was trying to read Q. Because he lacked an actual organ to undergo the processes of thinking, Troi wouldn't be able to understand any emotion he was displaying, which would be a dead giveaway considering that the _real_ Picard did indeed have a brain. After four seconds of deafening silence, she finally spoke.

"Captain, are you alright?" Her tone sounded sincere, but Q could tell that it wasn't a check of his well-being but an interrogation. Q ran his hands down his face and gave a deep sigh. He forced his best approximation of an apologetic smile when he put his hands down.

"To be perfectly honest, I am exhausted and on edge. But that doesn't give me an excuse to take it out on all of you." Q turned to Riker. "Apologies, Number One." _Such a stupid nickname._

Riker let out what sounded like a sigh of relief. "I understand, Captain. I think we're all a little on edge. We'll be sufficiently away from the Neutral Zone soon."

"We should be out of the designated caution zone in approximately four hours and twenty-seven minutes, Captain," Data offered. Q nodded.

"Very well." He sat in the captain's chair, instantly feeling like he didn't belong. It was Picard's body in the chair, sure, but Q wasn't captain of the Enterprise. Though he was a superior being to Picard, he could never imagine actually taking his place. He held too much respect for the man. After all, there was a reason he enjoyed referring to him as _mon capitaine. _He didn't want to control Picard, no, he simply wanted Picard to need Q as much as Q needed _him_.

 _No, no, no. I don't_ need _Picard. I could pester any being if I got bored. What's so special about Picard? Besides his quick-wittedness? Or his strength, both physical and mental? Not to mention his attractiveness for such a limited mortal form. He's so much more resilient than any other creature I've toyed with. He's not stubborn like the rest of the humans. He's actually capable of opposing me. Oh, I love that about him. Q, you half-witted moron. You know that you've been waiting an eternity for Picard. You_ do _need him. And if you screw this up, he'll never let you near him again._

Q was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Troi leaning over to him. "You look a lot better than you did when you left, _Captain,_ " she hissed, the emphasis on her last word setting off a spark in Q's consciousness. "I can't see the shadows under your eyes anymore."

Q rubbed his eyes and uncovered them to reveal what he had seen on Picard's face in his quarters. "Well, that's a relief. I didn't find them particularly attractive." Troi shook her head slightly, as if to startle away something that was close to her face.

"I stand corrected, sir. It must have been a trick of the light."

Q chuckled. "Oh, I figured it was too good to be true, Counselor." Troi hummed, and Q could hear her skepticism. Of course, she probably knew better than to cry "Q." Plus, given the sleep deprivation that was shared by the entirety of the Enterprise's senior staff (save for the android), she had reason to doubt her empathic abilities, right? It was probably for the best that she wouldn't be able to feel what he was. Four hours alone with his thoughts would certainly reveal some humiliating feelings.

 _Why do I allow myself to feel this way? I could swat away this pointless emotion like an Alverian dung beetle. Hell, I could swat_ Picard _away just as easily. No, I could never bring myself to do that. I've grown far too attached to him. I've never been attached to anything before. It's insufferable. Why do I suffer for Picard? He's a mortal. A human, no less._ _I'd have better luck trying to civilize a Klingon than I do chasing Picard._

 _Oh, to hold him in my arms. To protect him as he slept. To lull him into a dream. I wonder what Jean-Luc is dreaming about now. I've only experienced a dream once._ Q recalled his short bout as a human. It had been absolutely dreadful. The only redeeming part of it was the dream he'd had when he'd fallen unconscious. Something that started out as a terrifying experience but quickly became something he never wanted to leave. Q would often replay the dream when he was all but overcome with the desire to see Picard.

 _ **I'm all alone in the dark. I can't even see myself. I'm cold. I'm lost.** Oh, I can't even bear to think of this part. Being all alone and powerless is a fate far worse than death. **He appears in the distance, hardly a smudge. But I know it's him. I already feel tranquility before he even starts walking toward me. Each step he takes grants existence to a cluster of stars underneath his feet. The void surrounding me subtly gains light and wisps of color. When his face is in focus, he has a warm smile.** That one's rare; _ _I've only seen it a few times. It's my favorite. **He gently cups my jaw with his hand. Warmth washes over me and our surroundings explode with the light of stars and planets. A whole plane of existence just for the two of us.**_

"Captain!"

Q snapped out of his dream and was met with Commander LaForge's hand waving in his face. Q shifted his gaze to LaForge's visor.

"Forgive me, Commander, I must have fallen asleep with my eyes open," Q rushed out. LaForge's concerned expression quickly morphed to amused as he let out a short laugh. "What did you need?"

"Our communications system just blacked out, sir," LaForge explained. "Our comms aren't working."

"I am unable to open communications or send out a distress signal," Worf added. Q swallowed a snide comment about how he would be surprised if Worf could do that if there _weren't_ a blackout. It wasn't like Picard to insult his crew at all, let alone to their faces. _It really is a shame. Being Picard is harder than I thought._

"I'm trying to figure out the source of the disruption, but progress is slow."

Q nodded. "How long until we're out of the caution zone?"

"4 minutes, 42 seconds, Captain," Data said. "With our distance from the Neutral Zone, I find it unlikely that Romulan interference is to blame. I recommend we run a level-one diagnostic on the communication system. It should be complete before we are clear of the caution zone, so if it were we would be able to detect it."

Q nodded once more, nearly everything the crew was saying going far over his head. "Make it so." That phrase seemed to be one of Jean-Luc's favorites. Q couldn't blame him; it was inherently commanding. LaForge gave a thumbs-up and exited the Bridge. All eyes, except for the helmsmen's, were once again on Picard.

"So, what were you dreaming about?" Troi asked, amusement in her voice. Q could feel something, maybe panic, stir within him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"When you were spacing out," Riker added. "Where was your head?"

"I was, uh, thinking about..." Q hesitated. What were the inner workings of Jean-Luc's mind? What did he think about most? Was it the Enterprise? Earth? _Well, it couldn't possibly be..._ "Q."

_Son of a-_

_"Q?!"_ Riker and Troi nearly shrieked, in perfect sync. Q merely shrugged.

"Yes. You know, he may antagonize us every so often, but there's something admirable about him."

"There is nothing admirable about him treating us as a child's toy," Worf grumbled. "It is dishonorable to _antagonize_ a lesser being simply because it is lesser."

Q's nose wrinkled for a fraction of a second. _You're one to talk about lesser beings._

"Agreed. What redeeming quality could you possibly see in him?" Riker demanded.

Redeeming quality. That was a good question.

_I'm powerful? You've only used that power to torment. I'm intelligent? You hoard all of your knowledge. I'm... nothing. There is not one way I can justify any affinity that Picard may have for me. Does that mean..._

_Picard truly hates me?_

"I..." Q started, his voice barely above a whisper. "I suppose I admire his tenacity. His never-ending desire to prove himself as worthy."

"Worthy of _what,_ exactly?" Troi sounded concerned for Picard's sanity.

"Worthy of companionship!" Q cried. "Worthy of love! Worthy of anything more than floating adrift pointlessly! Have you ever thought to consider that he's more than the monster you make him out to be?! Has it ever occurred to you that he's trying to make up for all of the torment he's committed?! That he wants to be better? That... that..." At this point, all eyes - even the android's - were glued to Q. Q had never cried before, but now he knew how those who _did_ cry felt while doing so. He felt absolutely eviscerated.

"Captain," Data began hesitantly, "we have left the caution zone."

Q snapped and was transported to the front of the Bridge, having dropped his appearance of Picard. All the eyes that had been attracted to the bright flash of white light lit up with fury.

"You're all miserable little creatures. How foolish I was to think that any of you besides Picard had even a _shred_ of empathy. I'll bet anything that he's ashamed to have you under his command," Q snapped.

"Where is Captain Picard?" Riker shouted. Q rolled his eyes.

"In his quarters, sleeping." Q snapped once more, bringing himself, Riker, Troi, and Data to the captain's quarters. In the bed lied Picard, snoring softly. Q could have melted with adoration had it not been for the enraged members of the Enterprise three feet behind him.

Troi rushed forward and laid a hand on Picard's shoulders. "Captain, wake up." Picard slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he focused on was Q.

And in that moment, Q was absolutely frozen.


	3. Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picard wakes up and is filled in on what Q had done in his absence. Much to his surprise, he finds that Q is willing to bend the truth a little bit...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry about the two full chapters of exposition before getting to the part i actually wanted to fucking write aklsjhdjkdfs

_"Captain, wake up."_

Picard slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurred from adjusting to the sudden light that was replacing the darkness in which he was surrounded. When his sight finally cleared, it was focused on Q. Who looked like Q. He began scanning the room and saw members of his senior staff. Worf, Data, and Riker were standing unsettlingly close behind Q. Turning his he to his left, he saw that he was face to face with Counselor Troi, who had her hand on his shoulder.

"Captain, are you alright?" Troi asked, concern ever present in her voice. Picard blinked a few times and once more looked at his surroundings. He could gather one very obvious thing:

Q had been caught.

"Well, look at that," Q began, his tone charming as ever. Picard, however, could detect just the smallest hint of rage in his voice. "Your captain is exactly where I said he was, doing exactly _what_ I said he was."

"Q, what-"

"Oh, spare me your lecture, Picard," Q interrupted. "Taking over your ship is more difficult than I thought. The easiest part of it all was knocking you out."

"You didn't-"

"Lay a hand on you? Yes, I'm aware. I have the unique ability to harness my _infinite power_ to put you under." Q turned to the members of Picard's crew behind him. "I didn't mean to impair him, but you might want to sent him up to your Sick Bay. He sounds a little confused."

That's when Picard finally understood that Q was absolving him of any blame. He was making it sound like he had forced Picard into sleep. Picard locked eyes with Q, who gave him a very quick wink that went unnoticed by everyone else in the room. Picard gave a slow nod and pulled the blankets off himself. He sat up and draped his legs off the edge of his bed, staring at the floor in front of him.

_Why would Q take the blame for this? What could he possibly have to gain from doing so?_

Picard stood, which triggered a rush of blood that left him dizzy and caused his vision be washed black for a few seconds. He stumbled forward and was braced by Troi.

"I'm alright, Counselor," Picard assured. "I haven't eaten much."

"Why'd you do it, Q?" Riker demanded. This earned a loud scoff from Q.

"You humans. Always curious, always wanting answers. If you _must_ know, Riker, I was hoping to use your conflict with the Romulans to stir up some fun with you. Unfortunately, they kept their distance and I wasn't able to do anything. Such a shame," Q lamented. "I'm not allowed to directly cause chaos to you anymore, but posing as your captain and giving stupid orders to provoke the Romulans would keep me out of trouble."

"I'm going to Sick Bay," Picard sighed. "Worf, Data, Number One, I want all of you to rest and tend to yourselves. Deanna, please accompany me to Sick Bay. Q, I expect you to be in here when I return."

"Captain, are you not going to remove the ship of this pest?" Worf asked.

"Oh, like _you're_ one to talk!" Q shot back.

"Enough!" Picard yelled. "You have your orders."

Worf sighed. "Understood, Captain."

Picard and his crew filed out of his quarters, leaving Q behind to sit on Picard's bed. With the closing of his door, Picard allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts.

_I should count myself lucky that Q was feeling compassionate. I can't believe I was actually stupid enough to let him persuade me to hand over my ship to him. He could have killed my crew. He could have started a war between the Federation and the Romulans. He could have knocked us into the middle of deep space._

_But he didn't. From what I could tell, he just sat at the Bridge. He let me rest. Is it possible he didn't even want trouble with the Romulans? He lied about how I came to sleep; is it possible he was lying about his motivations, too?_

"Captain, you mustn't feel guilty," Troi brought him out of his thoughts. _She must be feeling my conflict._ "It wasn't your fault."

_If only that were true._

Before he knew it, they were walking into Sick Bay. Doctor Crusher saw Picard all but leaning on Troi and increased her pace towards them.

"Captain!"

"I'm alright, Beverly."

"I think I'll be the judge of that." Crusher began scanning Picard. "What happened?"

"Q put him to sleep," Troi explained. "And it's been a while since he's had a substantial amount of food."

Picard tuned out their conversation and opted to stare at a spot on the wall in front of him and he was sat on an observation table. He wondered if Q would still be in his quarters as he had requested. There was, of course, a reason for that. He'd been having a nightmare. If Q abandoned him now...

"You seem to be fine in the head," Crusher began, "but you definitely need to eat something. And sleep a little bit more."

Picard nodded. He glanced around the room and noticed that Troi had left. He and Crusher were the only ones within earshot.

"Beverly, may I tell you something in confidence?" She nodded. "Q didn't force me into sleep. I... he persuaded me to let him take my place. I let him do it. I feel like such an _idiot,_ too."

Crusher raised a brow. "Jean-Luc, that was obvious."

"What?!"

"You're deliriously tired. Anyone in your place would have done the same. When Deanna noticed you were spacing out again, she told me what Q had said when he was pretending to be you. He's wanting to improve, and he's wanting to do it for _you._ "

Picard was absolutely taken aback. He had figured that Q had some kind of fascination with him, but never would have imagined that Q could possibly care that much about him.

"I need to return to my quarters."

Before he could comprehend Crusher's instructions, he was practically running to the turbolift. He could hardly enunciate his instructions to the computer as his throat had gone dry. When the doors opened, he all but sprinted to his quarters. He almost didn't want to look as he stepped forward into the room. He drew in a breath before looking to his bed.

Lo and behold, Q was laying across the bed, his arms behind his head. Picard let out his sigh of relief.

"I'm so glad you didn't leave."

Picard walked to his bed and, without thinking, draped his blankets over his body. Q chuckled.

"You sound surprised, Jean-Luc."

"I wasn't sure if you would have been here when I came back."

"Why, exactly, did you _want_ me to stay?"

"I wanted to talk to you. About what you did."

"The only use of my powers was to take your form and to change my location on your ship."

"Why did you do it? Did you really want to provoke the Romulans?"

"No, no. I wasn't even aware there was an issue with them. I came to you because I actually _felt_ how tortured you were. I couldn't take it."

"But you could have just ignored it."

"I could have ignored the sensation, but not the fact that you were suffering. Not doing anything about it would have felt even worse."

"I suppose that's fair. But then why'd you take all the blame for me being asleep?"

"Are you joking? You would have been fired. And how can I come have fun with your crew if you don't have one?"

"If you're not careful, Q, you might trick me into thinking you're getting sentimental."

This elicited a loud laugh from Q.

"You shouldn't give me so much credit, Jean-Luc."

Picard shifted closer to Q as subtly as he could. The glance and smirk from Q told him that he had failed. 

"There is another reason I wanted you to stay with me," Picard mumbled.

"Oh?"

"I had a rather... upsetting nightmare."

"Aw, and you need me to snuggle you to make it all better?"

Picard couldn't bring himself to answer. He simply looked up into Q's eyes. Q's smirk melted into a soft smile.

"Get over here, Jean-Luc."

Picard let out the breath he had been holding and quickly turned to his side to rest his head on Q's chest. He felt so much more secure when he felt Q's arm wrap around him. His eyes flicked down to Q's chest as he rested his hand on it.

"It started out so pleasant, too," Picard sighed. "It was just the two of us among the stars. We had our own cluster of stars just for us to stand on, too. There were so many colors and it was so bright. But one by one, they started to vaporize. Eventually, the stars under my feet started to crumble. And then I fell. You couldn't reach me. I was just falling endlessly."

Picard could feel Q tracing random shapes on his bicep. Q's other hand was now resting on Picard's hip. Picard realized that he had been idly tapping on Q's chest. He quickly put his hand still.

"I'm right here, Jean-Luc."

"I know, Q."

"I'm gonna be right here to hold you."

"I know."

"I won't let you go."

"I know."

Picard once again shifted his gaze to Q's face. He could practically feel the protectiveness radiating from Q. Picard had never felt more safe in anyone else's embrace except his mother's.

"I have a dream I think you'd really like," Q whispered. "The two of us, among the stars. No obligations. No responsibilities. Just us. Us and anything we desire."

Picard leaned up and pressed his lips to Q's cheek. Grins spread across their faces in nearly perfect sync. Picard returned his head to Q's chest and closed his eyes.

"I think I'd really like that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi birdie's mom!


End file.
